I’m going to arm you with some of the best sound nutritional advice you will ever read and on top of that your toolbox will also include how to incorporate a kick ass fitness programme into the mix as well, I’ll also explain my reason’s for putting some of these training methods together.

Gone are the days that you feel the need to do never ending boring cardio runs on the treadmill or pounding the concrete, let me save your knees and shins. I’ll teach you how to train effectively and achieve a calorie burn that goes way beyond your gym or outdoor training session.

Look on the front of magazines and diet books and you see claims such as “lose 10 lbs in 10 days” and “drop a dress size in a week”. You never see a title such as “A healthy eating plan for life that will help you to lose weight over a long period of time”.

The reason why you never see a title like that is because we live in an on demand society. People want to lose weight now, not over a long period of time. Therefore that is how diets are marketed to us, by saying how much you should lose and how long it will take.

Without a doubt, diets do work. Even short term “fad” diets produce results, so what is the problem? The problem is that it is dangerous to radically change your eating habits from one day to the next. Your body simply does not know where the next meal is coming from and therefore the starvation response is triggered.

For a big part of the western world, the modern diets we eat, together with inactive lifestyles, are combining to produce people who are fatter than at any other time.

So how can this be the case when so many low-fat products are made available and we are more aware of fat than we have ever been? The answer does not lie in fat alone. Everyone needs a diet that provides the body with enough energy and nutrients in the form of healthy food to fuel itself and optimise its strength.

Any health and fitness programme needs to be supported by sound advice on diet and nutrition. Even if you work out regularly, you will never achieve a good level of health and fitness unless you nourish your body with the wholesome foods it needs to look after it self and maintain energy levels.

Applying the ins and outs of good nutrition shouldn’t dominate your life. It should enable you to take pleasure in what you eat.

To function optimally, the body requires a large range of different nutrients. The aim of a good, healthy diet is to provide the body with these nutrients and fuel it so that vital functions and energy systems and the immune system can perform their tasks under any circumstances.

Each different nutrient that exists in your diet has a unique role to play in the body yet interacts with all the other nutrients. If any particular nutrient is lacking in the diet, it means that essential function in the body will under-perform.

Without the essential nutrients – carbohydrates, fats, protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals – and water as well the body quickly slows down, and this is where some of the fashionable diets that advocate omitting certain food groups from the diet fall down leading to nutritional deficiency and heightening problems such as vital organ damage to the liver, heart, kidneys and brain, osteoporosis , iron deficiency anaemia and lowering of the metabolism which in turn lowers your metabolic rate and this would mean it would only take you a few calories to gain weight.

With the demands of modern life, eating a healthy, balanced diet couldn’t be more important. So what is the answer? It certainly is not fad diets. For long term weight loss you need to stop abusing your body with short term fixes. You need to eat a balanced diet for good! This does not mean a strict calorie controlled diet where everything is measured. It simply means not eating as much bad food (processed, junk, sweets etc) and eating more healthy foods (fruit, veg, meat and home cooked food made from fresh produce).

The Components of a Healthy Diet Revealed

Let's face it, we live in a fast paced world, our air and water is polluted, millions of pounds of pesticides a year are sprayed on crops to compensate for poor farming practices. And most people place more emphasis on driving a nice car as opposed to eating high quality food. So few people are conscious of the benefits of organic produce and if i'm honest most people do their weekly shopping as though they are filling their car with petrol---searching for the cheapest eggs, meats, produce and so on...the list continues!!.

Why Organic?

Organic food is grown without the use of toxic pesticides, herbicides, fungicides or chemical fertilizers. Organic foods are better for your health and support a healthy environment.

Before receiving organic certification, fields must be farmed for a minimum of 3 years. This 3 year period assures that microorganisms have time to digest and eliminate chemical residues that may be left in the soil from previous exposure. Farmers operating in this 3 year grace period can label their food "organically grown", yet there may still be pesticides in their soils, so it's best to purchase "certified" products.

Do your part and help the Environment

From the soil up, Organic farming is better for the environment. We survived thousands of years on organically grown foods. Today modern "advances" in farming such as chemical fertilizer, pesticides, fungicides and herbicides, are destroying our soils which then results in destruction of the plants, animals and ultimately the humans that depend on them. So remember one thing when you spend a bit more when buying organic, you're not only doing yourself a favor your helping the environment at the same time.

Nutrition

It is important to note here that You do not need carbohydrates, carbohydrates are not used as structural components in the body; they are only used a s a form of fuel. In actual fact glucose in the bloodstream created from carbohydrate ingestion is toxic to humans unless burned immediately as a fuel. Moreover, humans can exist easily without ever eating carbohydrates since the body has several mechanisms for generating glucose from protein and fat consumed.

Carbohydrates make up about half of the typical western diet, if we revert back to when our ancient ancestors walked these lands, carbohydrates accounted for 22-40% of the daily calories-but let me be clear here, their diet was predominantly good carbohydrates, from wild fruits and vegetables. These low-glycemic foods- which do not cause blood sugar to spike-are digested and absorbed slowly.

With nonstarchy fruits and vegetables, it's very hard to get more than 35% of your calories as carbohydrates. For example: an average tomato contains 26 calories. To get 35% of your daily calories as carbohydrates from tomatoes only, you'd have to eat thrity tomatoes, so you can actually indulge yourself in eating all the fruits and veggies you want.

Why are many carbohydrates bad? Many whole grains and legumes don't have a lot of vitamins and minerals. They're poor dietary sources of these important nutrients. So a diet thats tilted too heavily toward grains and legumes at the expense of lean meats, fruit and vegetables-can lead to vitamin and mineral deficiencies. This is why so many of our breads and cereals are fortified with extra nutrients. In reality, food shouldn't need to be supplemented with vitamins especially if you are geting the right balance of lean meats, fruits and vegetables.

Worse still, cereal grains and legumes even contain "anti-nutrients"-chemicals that actually prevent your body from absorbing the proper nutrients and can damage the gastrointestinal and immune systems. For good health and to maximize your weight loss potential ensure your diet contains lean meats, fruits, vegetables, some nuts and plenty of olive oil, coconut oil and coconut milk. Stay away from all processed foods, dairy, grains (that includes whole grains and brown rice), sugar, artificial sweeteners, fruit juice, and starchy foods like potatoes and beans.

Saturated Fats

Would it surprise you if I said "Saturated Fats were good for you?" Politically Correct Nutrition is based on the assumption that we should reduce our intake of fats, particularly saturated fats from animal sources. Fats from animal sources also contain cholesterol, presented as the twin villain of the civilized diet. Clearly something is wrong with the theories we read in the popular press—and used to bolster sales of "low-fat" concoctions and "cholesterol-free foods". The notion that saturated fats per se cause heart disease as well as cancer is not only facile, it is just plain wrong. But it is true that some fats are bad for us.

Saturated fat is important for your diet and it's not only okay to eat, it can be very beneficial. All we hear is that saturated fat clogs our arteries and gives us heart problems, leading to a higher mortality rate which is enough to scare anybody away from buying it, which is exactly what has happened. It's trendy to rail against saturated fats and to promote supposedly healthy alternatives. We should bear in mind though going back thousands and thousands of years, humans have been eating diets which contain a lot of saturated fat since time began. Is it possible that the way we have evolved has caused us to go through a significant change in the way that we handle these fats, leading to a considerable amount of bad press, or are we just being given the wrong answers?

Saturated fats from animal and vegetable sources provide a concentrated source of energy in the diet; they also provide the building blocks for cell membranes and a variety of hormones and hormonelike substances. Fats as part of a meal slow down absorption so that we can go longer without feeling hungry. In addition, they act as carriers for important fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. Dietary fats are needed for the conversion of carotene to vitamin A, for mineral absorption and for a host of other processes.

Here are 5 supersonic benefits of consuming Saturated Fat:

1) BETTER ABSORPTION OF OMEGA 3s:- Eating this type of fat enhances your body's ability to absorb omega 3 essential fatty acids (EFAs). Omega 3 EFAs offer numerous health benefits which include protection from cancer and heart disease. Therefore, by eating this type of fat on a regular basis you can indirectly enjoy the benefits of omega 3s.

2) HEALTHIER HEART:- When your heart is placed under stress it uses the saturated fats palmitic acid and stearic acid for energy. Therefore, contrary to popular belief they actually support heart health rather than cause heart disease.

3) HEALTHY LUNGS:- Your body uses this type of fat to produce a substance called lung surfactant. Lung surfactant is essential for keeping your lungs functioning properly and without it you would not be able to breathe. Not eating enough saturated fat causes faulty lung surfactant to be produced which can make breathing difficult and also cause lung damage. Therefore, eating it on a regular basis ensures that your lungs remain strong and healthy. Fats that compromise lung function and lead to asthma are the trans fats. Whereas saturated fats assist in synchronizing activities within our bodies. They are essential for the production of hormones, responsible for the padding around of internal organs as the heart and the quality of function of our lung capacity.

4) STRONG BONES:- Consuming saturated fat helps your body absorb calcium properly. Calcium is one of the most important nutrients when it comes to bone health and is essential for building both strong bones and teeth. Therefore, by eating this type of fat you can keep your bones healthy avoid bone related conditions such as osteoporosis (reduced bone density).

5) STRONG IMMUNE SYSTEM:- Certain saturated fats have been shown to strengthen your immune system. For example, both lauric acid and myristic acid help your body produce white blood cells. White blood cells help your body fight infection and are essential for strong immunity.

Saturated Fats are not the bad guys!!

A great deal of scientific evidence which has honestly been evaluated, does not support the assertion that "artery-clogging" saturated fats cause heart disease. Actually, evaluation of the fat in artery clogs reveals that only about 26% is saturated. The rest is unsaturated, of which more than half is polyunsaturated.

Fat is a very important source of fuel, essential for our daily energy needs. Almost half of the fat in our body is composed of saturated fat and is what ancestors used to survive in difficult times, as it is fairly easily stored within our bodies. Due to the difference in composition between saturated fats and unsaturated fats, cooking can be hazardous to your health unless you are adequately educated about the risks. Understand that polyunsaturated fats can become unstable when heated, creating the formation of free radicals that are known to be damaging to our cellular structure. A reliance on polyunsaturated fat can lead to heart disease itself, despite the option being touted as good for our hearts. Monounsaturated fats, in more than small doses, have been linked to the early onset of cancer and premature aging, while the unsaturated fat alternatives such as coco or corn oil can lead to a diet low in essential Omega-3 fatty acids.

Avoid any and all deep fried foods unless you prepare them yourself, even then its best to use lard, coconut oil or palm oil and keep frying and deep frying to a minimum.

And finally let’s be honest, it’s simply best to NEVER eat from fast food restaurants. They use low quality foods and fats, many are highly processed, even those touted as “healthy” are laden with trans-fatty acids, structurally trans fatty acids are closer to plastic than fat. Trans fatty acid absorption has been linked to heart disease and elevated cholesterol levels.

The Dangers of Polyunsaturates

The public has been fed a great deal of misinformation about the relative virtues of saturated fats versus polyunsaturated oils. Politically correct dietary gurus tell us that the polyunsaturated oils are good for us and that the saturated fats cause cancer and heart disease. The result is that fundamental changes have occurred in the Western diet. At the turn of the century, most of the fatty acids in the diet were either saturated or monounsaturated, primarily from butter, lard, tallows, coconut oil and small amounts of olive oil. Today most of the fats in the diet are polyunsaturated from vegetable oils derived mostly from soy, as well as from corn, safflower and canola.

Excess consumption of polyunsaturated oils has been shown to contribute to a large number of disease conditions including increased cancer and heart disease; immune system dysfunction; damage to the liver, reproductive organs and lungs; digestive disorders; depressed learning ability; impaired growth; and weight gain.

One reason the polyunsaturates cause so many health problems is that they tend to become oxidized or rancid when subjected to heat, oxygen and moisture as in cooking and processing. Rancid oils are characterized by free radicals.

Free radicals have been characterized as "marauders" in the body for they attack cell membranes and red blood cells and cause damage in DNA/RNA strands, thus triggering mutations in tissue, blood vessels and skin. Free radical damage to the skin causes wrinkles and premature aging; free radical damage to the tissues and organs sets the stage for tumors; free radical damage in the blood vessels initiates the buildup of plaque. Is it any wonder that tests and studies have repeatedly shown a high correlation between cancer and heart disease with the consumption of polyunsaturates? New evidence links exposure to free radicals with premature aging, with autoimmune diseases such as arthritis and with Parkinson's disease, Lou Gehrig’s disease, Alzheimer's and cataracts.

What about Cholesterol?

And what about cholesterol? Here, too, the public has been misinformed. Our blood vessels can become damaged in a number of ways—through irritations caused by free radicals or viruses, or because they are structurally weak—and when this happens, the body’s natural healing substance steps in to repair the damage. That substance is cholesterol. Cholesterol is a high-molecular-weight alcohol that is manufactured in the liver and in most human cells. Like saturated fats, the cholesterol we make and consume plays many vital roles:

Along with saturated fats, cholesterol in the cell membrane gives our cells necessary stiffness and stability. When the diet contains an excess of polyunsaturated fatty acids, these replace saturated fatty acids in the cell membrane, so that the cell walls actually become flabby. When this happens, cholesterol from the blood is "driven" into the tissues to give them structural integrity. This is why serum cholesterol levels may go down temporarily when we replace saturated fats with polyunsaturated oils in the diet.

Cholesterol is a precursor to vitamin D, a very important fat-soluble vitamin needed for healthy bones and nervous system, proper growth, mineral metabolism, muscle tone, insulin production, reproduction and immune system function.

ecent research shows that cholesterol acts as an antioxidant.This is the likely explanation for the fact that cholesterol levels go up with age. As an antioxidant, cholesterol protects us against free radical damage that leads to heart disease and cancer.

Mother's milk is especially rich in cholesterol and contains a special enzyme that helps the baby utilize this nutrient. Babies and children need cholesterol-rich foods throughout their growing years to ensure proper development of the brain and nervous system.

ietary cholesterol plays an important role in maintaining the health of the intestinal wall. This is why low-cholesterol vegetarian diets can lead to leaky gut syndrome and other intestinal disorders.

In summary, our choice of fats and oils is one of extreme importance. Most people, especially infants and growing children, benefit from more fat in the diet rather than less. But the fats we eat must be chosen with care. Avoid all processed foods containing newfangled hydrogenated fats and polyunsaturated oils. Instead, use traditional vegetable oils like extra virgin olive oil and small amounts of unrefined flax seed oil. Acquaint yourself with the merits of coconut oil for baking and with animal fats for occasional frying. Eat organic egg yolks and other animal fats (where possible or free range) with the proteins to which they are attached. And, finally, use as much good quality butter as you like, with the happy assurance that it is a wholesome—indeed, an essential—food for you and your whole family.

fitPRO Solutions will be constantly adding nutritional information and fitness tips and advice to this page. Keep checking the site. Thank You

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